What a Weekend!

So in a continuing trend, the Mussellam family is full speed ahead! As usual I'm falling way way way behind on the blogging side of things. I do love you all, I'm just so bloody busy! This weekend, as is next weekend, is birthday weekend! We phoned in some birthday love to our girls' cousin Siobhan. We didn't manage to sing to her but hopefully she heard the awesomesauce we recorded on Robyn's voicemail! We had school friends birthday (Maeve) and our great friend Miete's 2nd birthday on saturday. Miete's birthday was really fun once I got there.. but thats a whole 'nother story! Miete rang in her birthday with a cake made of rumballs! yes I said rum balls! She loves them! Sunday brought us over to "The 'Naimo" for our baby Winter's first birthday! Danica and my Mom did such a nice job! Danica as usual, made fierce cupcakes and my Mom just whipped up forty or forty five dozen hotdog buns from scratch! Way to go ladies, I sure do love you both! Auntie Erin and Uncle Don were there, Don of course proving me incorrect at every opportunity stupid iPhone! Lexie brought us a special gift... we got to see Logan who has grown SO much since I first met him! He now weighs over 7lbs! Uncle Bro & Auntie Linds were there with their girls, they all had so much fun! Saige was rocking a suhweet ponytail! We got to see so many of you who we love so much and we missed some of you who we love that didn't make it this time!! Sorry it was such a whirlwind tour but we were thrilled to get to celebrate Winter's very first birthday! I can't wait to spend Xmas with everyone, I promise we'll stay longer than a couple of hours! Don't worry Papa, we wont stay for a week this time!! ;)

So we logged just a few ferry hours this weekend. Auntie Caca gave some cool favors for Winter's bday so here are the girls with theirs!



Please note that at least one of these gingerbreadies are wearing panties!



All in all, we had a great weekend. Now that I'm working full time its becoming clearer and clearer that the most important thing is family. I am so happy and thankful that I have such wonderful people in my family. I love you!

Report card time!

Maeve is in a class where her teachers co-op. Ms Foran is tuesday-thursday and Tony is Monday and Friday. There are 20 children in her class! 2 of the children in her class have special needs and they have a support worker named John. Let me tell you right away I do not enjoy the tues -thursday teacher and i was considering taking Maeve to another school after our first meeting with the teacher. Maeve absolutely, would not ever change schools so I decided to cool my heels and wait and see. I am so glad we did wait, Tony brings something special to the classroom. All the children love and adore him! Last month we had a parent teacher conference a goal setting conference if you will. I was happy to see that Tony 'gets' Maeve he is very proud of her accomplishments and both teachers enjoy having Maeve in their class. So Maeve got her report card and she is fully meeting the teachers expectations. These grades the kids don't get a's b's c's they get N(not approaching) A(approaching) M(meets expectations) F(fully meets expectations) and E(Exceeds expectations). Michael and I are so proud to have Maeve, she has friends in every class, loves to help and loves her teachers!

This year Maeve is on student council and goes to meetings on her lunch break. She has a 'big buddy' named Suraya who plays games with her, reads to Maeve and lets Maeve read to her. I am proud of Maeve on a daily basis as she constantly amazes me! She has a wicked sense of humor and has a depth of understanding far beyond her years!

I was pretty shocked to find this in her backpack on friday:



Yes, that is Maeve's first script! I am constantly amazed by this kid! She is so quiet, calm and down to earth and now she is going to be an actress! ok ok i'm probably putting the cart before the horse but what is a blog but a place to brag about your children!

I can't believe it is December! Would someone like to tell me where November went because I obviously didn't blog about it! Last thing I remember it was Halloween! Next thing y

Buzzt... bzzt.. sweeewwoooozt.




Is this thing on? What? Okay ...

Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, lurkers and the rest of you lot.
This blog has been hacked by the man of the house. To the ma'am at the back; please stop screaming, I'll make it painless. Thank you very much.
Now, please sit down and we'll begin.
Right.

*cough*

As some of you know, my lovely wife has taken it upon herself to go back into her beloved chosen-field, taking on the job of Infant Care Supervisor at our brand new local community centre. Well I'm happy to report, that besides missing out on sleep (which apparently we need less of as we get older), she is doing wonderful; all happy, "glowy" and dropping weight like a hot potato. You'd think she was pregnant again! Must be all the hours caring for babies that you can give back at the end of the day.
As this is day two of full-time work, I'm interested to see how things are in a week.
I'm guessing; still blissful:




What else do we have.. oh yes, Maeve and Madigan.

Last weekend they got a special surprise, Vashti's awesome friend Mel (with the help of a prison-style laundry hamper) snuck the girls to a showing of Disney on Ice.
Here they are dressed up to for the unknown surprise (and moment before being wrapped in old linens to avoid the guards):



Once they were allowed out of the hamper, they were thrilled to witness the "Cast Members" doing their thing to the delight of thousands of awed hoodlums ...er, kids (Notice the flower-men with whips cleverly dispersed along the edge of the rink to make sure things go according to plan):



The dazed and overly happy girls (after being captured and forced to wear mind-numbing giant flowers. Here you can see that Madigan, being cleverer than her average uncle, has recognized the danger and is trying desperately to defeat the Smiley Techology TM and break out of the Matrix ):



But enough about them.

Sadly, there wasn't enough room in the laundry-hamper for dear old dad, but don't worry, I wasn't crying in the corner, I took the time to sneak away to slap a puck around. Of course we won the good ole hockey game even though I didn't get any opportunity to score. Yes, it was a sad day for padding my points. The memories are too fresh and this hurts my heart so let's move on.

*cough*

We never want our daughters to have to wear spectacles, but Madigan looks pretty cute in Vashti's vintage X-Ray glasses (we removed and destroyed the swirling "clothes removing" X-ray lenses once we reached our 30's. No one wants to see that, though I suspect that Vashti was wishing she had x-ray glasses while watching the latest Twilight movie!):



That's about it. Oh yeah, our niece Winter came to visit for a week. She and the girls had a great time devising ways of destroying the house and driving Auntie/Mommy to drink:



But I've said too much.
Leave your "all important comments" at the bottom.
Good day!

~M

bzz zark

Snip snip

This weekend we took the girls to On the Fringe
Both girls came out with beautiful haircuts! Not everyone is impressed that we cute their hair (My Mom) but everyone else really loves it! The girls brush their own hair before school it makes life SO much easier for me in the morning! The girls seem to LOVE their beautiful new hair!


We are all doing well at the Mussellam casa. The childminding torch has been passed on from Danica to my Mom and now to Erin. Auntie Erin is watching the girls for us while I work full time. I am EXhausted! Life as a full time working Mommy is definitely challenging. Don't worry, I wont bore you with all the details but trust me, I'm tired!

Almost howlereen!

Today was Maeve's school Halloween Parade! It was tough, Madigan was having her party, Maeve had the parade and I had to get Michael to work.. talk about being in 3 places at once!

Michael and I stayed at Maeve's school for a bit of the party, then had to get going. Jo Wood was kind enough to snap a few shots of our gorgeous Barbie 3 Muskateer! She has the gown, the mask and the good looks but no sword because weapons are not welcome at school! I NEVER thought we'd be the ones with weapons but hey, how many times have we all said, "I'm never going to.... " and then done it!

Here is Maeve sitting with her class at assembly:



Parading her costume for the parents and big kids:


Finishing up the parade with two clone troopers hot on her trail!:


So, dropped off Michael and headed back to Madigan's party. Her teachers are both really nice and the kids all wore great costumes! The had plenty of snacks, jello, candy cupcakes etc so many that they weren't allowed to eat their actual snack.. you know, healthy fruit, protein and what have you!

Here is Madigan with her teachers, Jenny and Patricia:

Big week around the ole Mussellam hizzouse. Maeve lost her first tooth!!! We'd been trying and trying to help her lose her tooth but I just don't have the ability to help/hurt my baby girl!




Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting... duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh





Those kids were fast as lightning!



Everything was a little bit frightening.....


My brother very kindly watched Maeve and Madigan so Michael and I could attend a very spooky halloween party! Fortunately Michael and I made it out alive err. still dead, together..

Hello faithful fans,

This rainy week Ms Madigan had her very first solo field trip.. actually first trip ever! Her preschool class hit the very muddy pumpkin patch on friday and Lisa very kindly took this picture for us! She really enjoyed her pumpkin patch partner "Bella". She and her Mum are from Scotland. Madigan picked a great pumpkin and we will carve it next week after Maeve goes to the pumpkin patch with her class!

Here is Madigan on the big school bus just as they arrived back safe and sound!



this one looks like I'm trying to kiss her to death and she is making a break for her life!



Thanks for grabbing the pics Lisa!

where have we been?

We have been EVERYWHERE! Life is full steam ahead for Clan Mussellam... our 'baby' Madigan turned 4.. yes 4 years old! My baby is 4!!




Madigan was treated to calls from all of her loved ones, sooooo many cards and a few presents too! Thank you all so much for all the birthday love!

Oh, and she chose ice cream cake!


Growing up we were "not so rich". On our birthdays our Mother made us feel the best because we got to choose our favorite meals for birthday dinner! I am continuing this tradition with my girls because I know that Madigan will always choose home made mac'n'cheese! So, with Auntie Sara, cousing jakers Maeve and Daddy we had a delicious fun birthday dinner!

I can't believe another week has flown past! Last week we survived Maeve's birthday.

I'm not the best Mommy in the world, there are some things that I don't really enjoy doing and that is keeping 2 girls safe while they ride their bikes.... sooo with Maeve busy at school, Madigan rode her bike to the beach!




It is much easier keeping one child on the bike route and off the pedestrian part than two let me tell you! Her reward? A kiss from her Mommy who adores her!


All the Mussellam ladies got to go to Liam's 4th birthday party and paint and work with clay making Yoda figurines!! The kids had a blast, working hard at the Art Studio, pumping out some serious Yoda action!

Friday Lexie and Gary welcomed their little Logan to the world! Logan came a bit early and he is very tiny! Sounds like he is eating like a champ and everyone is taking excellent care of the whole family. I busted out the ole knitting needles and tried about 7 or 8 time to come up with a hat that will fit Logan's adorable little head! After many attempts here is the finished product, modelled by Madigan's doll "Blueberry"

Big Week

Hello friends and family!

So we've had a pretty big week around here. Ms Maeve Adera turned 6! Yes 6! My baby, my first born baby girl is 6! I can't believe it!

Maeve just LOVED the card that Michael made for her. For my birthday Michael made me a very beautiful special card and Maeve asked him to make one for her on her birthday. Maeve also asked for a cake *just* like the one Gramma Suzy *made* for Daddy.. a chocolate cake from scratch with yes with money in it! Thanks for setting the bar so high on that one Susan!

Maeve woke up to a very special surprise! While she was sleeping Michael and I preformed our usual birthday magic! We used the table cloth (plastic crap) that we've been using since Maeve turned 3 in england!! haha talk about getting one's money worth!!


Maeve LOVES the new backpack Madigan picked out for her!


For breakfast Queen Maeve had swiss pancakes with fresh fruit and whipped cream!

Ahh what a day! She was sent off to school with cupcakes for all her friends and her two teachers Tony and John! I prayed they would let them have them at recess but no, they got them just before coming home for the day! I had to apologize to all the parents for sugared up riled up kids!!

After school we played with Carter and Mel at Carter's (Cooper's) park, picked up Daddy around 5 and came home for homemade pizza, cake and a couple of movies. Barbie and the 3 Muskateers! The girls LOVED the cake and the movie, but the pizza not as much! I have to work on my pizza dough recipe!

Tired little girls got to sleep late and were up early saturday for the AppleBarn Adventure!! We met up with Mel, Monkey, Carter, Uncle Kenny, Auntie Shannon and baby Kara




. We picked 19lbs of the tastiest apples EVER! This year we actually hit the "HoneyCrisp" apple season. There is a 2 week window to get these beauties and we nailed it this year!

Madigan got to ride a pony!!


We played on the airpillow (awesome) picked apples, went on a tractor ride, played in the playground and then came home for dinner, cake and ice cream with some Grandparents! George, Susan, Darryl, Great Granny Grace and her friend Alva came over for chinese food, and a few presents! My girls are so thankful for the gifts given to them they are really lucky little ladies!


sunday brought us to toysrus to spend some bday bucks! Maeve went with a Barbie Muskateer (obviously) and Madigan opted for one of those creepy fur real puppies! They love them!

Now, a HUGE pile of laundry has my name written all over it so i bid you adieu!

Today we went to spend some birthday bucks

Wedding!

Well this weekend we really lucked out. Not only did Erin and Don get married, the weather was gorgeous! I was scared about how cold/wet it would be by last weeks weather! Sara and I spent Erin's last night as a single lady together. They tried and tried to get me to sleep with them but I hope everyone knows how much I :

a)enjoy sleep
b) enjoy sleep by myself
c)enjoy having my own personal space to sleep!

The wedding was at Pipers' Lagoon. It was pretty beautiful. They got married almost right on the ocean. The girls did a GREAT job as flower girl! They almost painstakingly laid a trail of petals to "Help Auntie Erin find Don" ! I made it up and down the isle without barfing due to being nervous so that was nice! Sara looked gorgeous (I'm taking full props for her hair! we rawked it!) and Erin looked beautiful! I was very happy for the wedding part to be over, now I just had the nerves for the speech I had to do!! Fortunately Gary let me man up and have a shot before the big deal!


Dinner was really good. I didn't eat much (explains how fast I got drunk) I had so much time hanging out with friends and family. I think EVERYONE had a great time! Everyone looked so good! My Mom, you looked great in that pink suit! Danica, you looked so fantastic! Jason & Barb, Bro & Linds you clean up well! Mr Robin Smith cleaned up and looked pretty good in the beginning adn alth he was totally polluted at the end.. he did it with style!

All in all a great day, a great wedding and a great future for Mr and Mrs Boekenkruger!



Hopefully you look this good after being married this long!!!

So, we got the Xbox 360.....



yes, they are awesome!

Weekend Showers

Sunday Auntie Lisa threw a wonderful party for Erin and Don! Little Natalie sent a Bride and Groom baseball hat an Uncle David said a few words congratulating the couple and wishing them well on their biggest adventure yet! Gift were given, cake was eaten a great time was had by all.



The kids had a BLAST jumping on the trampoline. I'm glad their brand new dresses were soon BLACK! Madigan jumped so much and laughed so much we had to give her a conditional TO! The weather was crappy on the way there but the skies opened up and poured down some loving sunshine for Erin & Don's bridal shower.

I can't show all the pictures of the gifts received. Let me tell you, the oldest Lady at the party gave the gift with the biggest party reaction!

Tea Party!

On Friday, the girls and I were invited to a very special event. A very special tea party at the Doucette's! We arrived dressed as princesses and were treated like royalty! Lisa had a fantastic spread out for us.




First, Liam let everyone share a turn on his computer


Then, we feasted!


Then Liam, and the girls played with stuffed animals with Liam. I wasn't welcome so I only got this one shot!



I didn't grab a shot of the kids playing outside but Ronan had some projects going on out there. The kids played outside while Lisa and I (mostly I) ate all the goodies that the kids didn't. A big thank you Lisa, you throw a mean tea party!

At dinner later that night, Mrs Maeve Trump wowed us with her new look... FABOOSH BITCHES!